What's the mechanism behind fresh, cold air on your face bringing breathing relief?
Breathing relief: What's the mechanism... - Lung Conditions C...
Breathing relief
im not totaly sure but its something to do with stimulating the nerve endings on your face encouraging nice deep breaths. i know it works realy well for me, i always carry a small fan with me
Hi
Hot air is heavy and make breathing difficult, extreme cold can irritate the air ways making breathing more difficult. A gentle breeze of cool air with or without a water spray, although not fully understood helps when having breathing difficulties.
Some reading.
I was told during pulmonary rehab that there's some connection between the facial nerve endings and the lungs hence the extra relief of a fan on the face when short of breath.
I've proved to my family that it works when a 3 year old had a sudden asthma attack in a diesel polluted London street. None of us had a ventolin, I grabbed an Evening Standard from a newsstand and fanned her face fir 5 minutes. Couldn't believe it really worked.
I use a small hand held fan too, the cool moving air helps .
But breathing very cold air in winter, or even sometimes when I open the fridge , makes my breathing worse. So cool not cold air works for me.
Also water on my face when I have a shower or a quick wash can make me breathless sometimes.
I often even in winter sleep much better when I have a fan on my face during the night. Works wonders for me sometimes